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History · Crandon

Half of Crandon’s homes were built after 1991

Most of Crandon was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1910.

0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Crandon’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Crandon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Crandon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Crandon’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Crandon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Crandon.

Read it all →

Samuel Shaw, an entrepreneur and capitalist, bought property in the area of Forest County in the 1880s, formerly Oconto County. With the aide of Major Frank P. Crandon, tax commissioner with the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company, he successfully lobbied the Wisconsin Legislature for the creation of Forest County, which was established in 1887. Because of his help, Frank Crandon became the namesake for the county seat. Rail service arrived shortly thereafter in the region via the Soo Line Railroad, but a spur line did not directly reach the town until the turn of the 20th century.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Crandon, 1904 to 1965

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1904Born hereAlexander H. Smith is born here
  3. 1905Born hereArmin Landeck is born here
  4. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Crandon, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Collins 000044 165831 510054 45782016Collins 000044 165831 510054 4578ForestCountyWisconsinVeteransMemorialUS8WIS32WIS552008ForestCountyWisconsinVeteransMemorialUS8WIS32WIS55ForestCountyWisconsinCourthouseUS8WIS32WIS552008ForestCountyWisconsinCourthouseUS8WIS32WIS55ForestCountyLawEnforcementCenter2008ForestCountyLawEnforcementCenterCrandonWisconsinWaterTowerUS8WIS32WIS552008CrandonWisconsinWaterTowerUS8WIS32WIS55CrandonWisconsinDowntownUS8WIS55WIS322008CrandonWisconsinDowntownUS8WIS55WIS32CrandonWisconsinDowntown2US8WIS55WIS322008CrandonWisconsinDowntown2US8WIS55WIS32WIMap-doton-Crandon2004WIMap-doton-Crandon
On the map

Crandon on the map, 1965 to 1991

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Crandon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Crandon on the 1965 USGS mapCrandon on the 1982 USGS mapCrandon on the 1991 USGS map1965Crandon sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Crandon.

Every building

Crandon, building by building, 1904–1909

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Crandon fire insurance map, 1904, sheet 11904Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Crandon, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,000

Between 1,582 and 2,000 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Crandon’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Crandon

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
A
Alexander H. SmithAmerican mycologist · b. 1904
A
Armin LandeckAmerican printmaker and educator · b. 1905
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Range SchoolschoolSiding Number 1 SchoolschoolSiding Number 2 SchoolschoolWolf River Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Crandon
Crandon

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Nashville1 historic placeCLincoln1 historic placeC+MonicoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHiles1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Crandon’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (8), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.